The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-05-01
Preventible Accidents Are Grimes.


The Massachusetts, Railroad Commits
sioners have reported upon the Bussey
Woods Bridge accident, in which train
went through bridge into a street, re-
sulting in great loss of life. The report |
analyses the testimony and finds the
railroad company entirely to blame. In
many respects this neglect consisted in
failing to employ competent men to pass
upon the plans of the bridge and the |
work when 1T was completed. The bridge |
was constructed practically without su-
perintendence on the part of the COM |
pany and the corporation neglected to |
preserve a copy of the specifications, |
drawings and strain sheets, nor was the
bridge ever examined afterward but
once, and then by a man not qualified
for the work.
Without following the report through
all its specifications, it may be said that
mistaken economy-criminal economy
was the cause of the failure of the bridge
ut Bussey Woods, according to the re-
port of the commissioners. The lives of
thousands of passengers on that road
have been imperiled every year in order
that the company might make better
show in its annual reports and satisfy
the stockholders or make the quotations
better on the Stock Exchange. Emerson
says, illustrating a principle by the man
ufacture of rails: IF there is Stag in
the iron, you may be sure there is Stag
in the pay" The desire to have a
.'cheap" man, to keep down salaries,
leads railroad managers to employ
men who will work for less
wages as civil engineers, SUI
sperintendents of bridges, master me-
chanics, ETC., because they are not fully
competent for the business. The less
salary paid to subordinate the moSe
can be spared for the pay of the supe-
rior officers.
The Board ''renews the expression of
its belief that preventible accident is a
crime The greed which leads a rail
road company to run trains freighted
with human lives over bridges of the
safety of which it has no assurance be-
cause it would cost something to make it
certain that they are not dangerous, is
not one whit behind the cupidity which
leads to any of the crimes in the Deca-
logue. There is punishment for this
crime in the loss of property to the
company itself and the heavy
damages it will have to pay to
the heirs of those whom 1T has
killed, and directly to those it
has crippled. But this punishment is
inadequate for the crime of exposing
human life to such danger. 1t is not
only that innocent lives are sacrificed,
but they are sacrificed in a most horrible
manner, going out in torture To many
who survived the accident life will be
always miserable on account of the
nervous shock, which is said. in some
cases, to endure through the remainder
Of life. Then, too, every passenger who
has been carried over the bridge for
years past has been exposed to the dan
ger of such a death. The bridge was
like an Internal machine, loaded and
with trigger set, waiting some jar to
pull the trigger.
1t is the comparative irresponsibility
to the criminal law of the managers
that renders them careless of the welfare
Of their patrons. For Grand Jury to
fix the responsibility and bring true bills
which will stand the test of a trial is
difficult. If Massachusetts, had no Board
Of Railroad Commissioners it is not prob
able that a searching investigation would
have been made into this disaster and
the blame fastened upon the company
in the specific charges brought in this
report. The Board says:
The disaster and the facts which have
been disclosed, impose grave response
bihty on the board of directors. 1t is
tn cir duty, by the most searchingSin-
quiry, to ascertain forthwith whether
any other work has been done in like
negligent and incompetent manner,
whether In other matters reasonable and
well improved precautions against acct
dent have been ignored or neglected and
whether false economy has been prac-
ticed and safety sacrificed. They should
not rest until they have taken the most
energetic measures, without regard to
persons, to correct the past and to en-
sure better and safer management in the
future. So far as relates to bridges, the
directors have already caused thorough
expert examination to be hegun. For
nately, there are but few bridges ON the
uue.
In mitigation of the sentence of con-
domination called for by the foregoing
findings and in support of the hope that
the history of the Bussey bridge is ex-
ceptlonal, 1t must be remembered that
from 1859, when the board of railroad
commissioners was created, up to the
time of this disaster, period of Is wears.
there has been no train accident on the
Boston and Providence Railroad which
resulted in the loss of a life of, or even
in serious injury to passenger.
The fact that no accident happens in
any case is no argument that it will not
happen, but the reverse. According to
the Calculus of Chances, where the con-
ditions are favorable to any casualty, the
longer it is deferred the more certain il
10 to happen. The chances against the ac-
cident are lessened every day. The
chances in favor Of the accident remain
the same. The accident may happen
early in the chain of chances or may be
deferred until the last, but it is some
where in that chain, nevertheless.